The E-FOIA Amendments require agencies to make available to
the public a guide for requesting records under FOIA. (Note
22) The guide must include: (1) "an index of all major
information systems of the agency," (2) "a description
of major information and record locator systems maintained by
the agency," and (3) "a handbook for obtaining various
types and categories of public information from the agency."
(Note 23) Congress's intention in requiring
record indexes and descriptions of major information systems
was to provide the public insight as to the types of records
maintained by each agency. The handbook is intended to be an
instruction manual for the public on how to obtain particular
types of information. It is supposed to simplify the FOIA process
for requesters, thus saving time and resources for government
agencies. Some agencies combine all of these materials within
a single guidance document or page, while others treat them
as three independent requirements.
PROBLEM:
MAJOR INFORMATION SYSTEM INDEXES ARE RARELY AVAILABLE OR ARE
CONFUSING
COMPLIANCE
WITH PROVISIONS FOR PUBLISHING INDEXES AND MAJOR INFORMATION
SYSTEMS DESCRIPTIONS IS HIGHLY INCONSISTENT ACROSS AGENCIES
|
Agencies
with all ten guidance elements |
|
CRT
(DOJ)
DOJ (main)
FCC
FERC
FRB
|
FTC
NASA
OPM
USPS
|
|
|
Only 36% of agency sites include an identifiable
list of major information systems, and only 28% have a link
to the Government Information Locator Service (GILS).
Contrary to Congress's intent to make agency record-keeping
more transparent, the manner in which agencies present record
indexes and guides varies widely and is more confusing than
helpful for requesters. Many agencies have not attempted to
describe their record holdings in a systematic and comprehensive
way. (Note 24) The indexes and major information
system descriptions that are available vary widely in format
and usability. Some agencies have sought to satisfy their obligations
by providing a link to the agency's GILS entries. (Note
25) At best, GILS serves only to partially fulfill the major
information systems requirement. (Note 26)
Moreover, the GILS database now appears to be defunct. As of
October 17, 2002, only thirty-two agencies had added their GILS
records to this server, and seven agencies maintained GILS collections
on their own servers. The GILS home page has not been updated
since November 27, 2001. (Note 27)
SOLUTION:
OMB SHOULD REVIEW MAJOR INFORMATION SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND
RECOMMEND EFFECTIVE REFORMS
Congress gave OMB responsibility for overseeing
the development of indexes and record systems guidance, largely
because OMB had already been directed in 1995 to establish GILS
and ensure that all agencies develop information system directors
for GILS. Today, OMB should review the index of major information
systems and description of major information and record locator
systems requirements of E-FOIA, as well as existing methods
of compliance, and issue a government-wide policy for making
agency record systems accessible to the public. The only agency
that appears to come close to satisfying Congress's intent in
this regard is DOJ, which maintains an extensive list with detailed
descriptions of all major information systems agency-wide. This
comprehensive approach allows members of the public to better
identify and describe the type of records they are seeking and,
in some cases, to access them through an online or publicly
available database without filing a FOIA request. Currently,
agencies are wasting resources by creating indexes in varied
formats that are not comprehensible or useful to the public
for identifying the types of records an agency maintains. Unfortunately,
this congressional mandate has failed, at least with respect
to providing the public insight into agency record-keeping and
publicly available information.
PROBLEM:
DEFICIENT AGENCY FOIA HANDBOOKS AND GUIDANCE LEAVE THE PUBLIC
WITHOUT CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS ON FOIA
MOST AGENCIES
DO NOT INCLUDE GUIDANCE COVERING EACH OF THE AREAS THAT ARE
ESSENTIAL FOR FOIA REQUESTERS
Only 6% of agencies provided all ten elements of
essential guidance to FOIA requesters. Based on
the legislative history, (Note 28) official
guidance from DOJ and OMB, (Note 29) and the
experience of frequent FOIA users, the National Security Archive
compiled the following list of basic elements that should be
included in an agency's FOIA handbook or online guidance for
requesters. These elements include:
- Information about where to send a FOIA request, including
a mailing address and either a fax number or e-mail address;
- Fee status information;
- Fee waiver information;
- Instructions on requesting expedited processing;
- Basic information about reply time, including when a requester
can expect a response;
- An explanation of exemptions that the agency may use to
deny requests;
- Details about requesters' rights to administrative appeal;
- Information about where to send appeals;
- Information about judicial review rights; and
- An index of the agency's major information systems. (Note
30)
FOIA
HANDBOOK FORMATS VARY WIDELY AND MANY ARE INADEQUATE OR DIFFICULT
TO USE
FOIA handbooks take many forms, from
a single, comprehensive HTML page or a downloadable PDF file
to several interconnected Web pages with vital information for
requesters scattered throughout. On many sites,
locating basic guidance information-including fundamental details
about FOIA processing and filing requests-is like a scavenger
hunt, where users must click on one link after another and piece
together bits of information spread throughout the site. While
some agencies do provide very detailed information, translating
the statutory and legal requirements into plain language for
requesters, others provide only the most minimal information
and leave requesters guessing about how to proceed. A number
of agencies also use FAQ-style guidance, which in many cases
is beneficial as a quick guide but is not as complete as some
more comprehensive handbooks. If basic information is provided
only as FAQs, requesters whose questions do not fit within one
of those presented may be left without the guidance they need.
The following chart shows the percentage of agencies
using different approaches to present FOIA guidance:
SOLUTION:
AGENCIES SHOULD INCLUDE EACH OF THE ESSENTIAL GUIDANCE ELEMENTS
IN A HANDBOOK FOR FOIA REQUESTERS
EVERY
AGENCY SHOULD INCLUDE GUIDANCE ON THE TEN ESSENTIAL TOPICS IDENTIFIED
BY THIS STUDY
Each agency should make available all of the ten elements of
information listed above, in addition to the contact information
required by Executive Order 13,392. It is not enough to know
where to mail a FOIA request; members of the public must also
understand how the FOIA works and what the law requires so that
they can determine whether or not an agency has complied with
the law. Thus, FOIA Web sites should provide users with details
about the rights and obligations of both requester and agency.
Requesters should be informed about how agencies process requests
and the justifications an agency can use for denying information.
It is essential that FOIA requesters know that they can be charged
fees and the basis on which those fees are determined; it is
similarly essential that requesters be made aware of how to
seek a fee wavier or expedited treatment for their request before
filing. Without all of these details, an average member of the
public inexperienced with FOIA will be at a distinct disadvantage
vis-à-vis a federal agency in standing up for his or
her rights under FOIA.
Some of the basic guidance elements offer essential conveniences.
In the ten years since E-FOIA was enacted, the public has grown
increasingly comfortable with electronic communications. At
the same time, postal service to U.S. government offices has
been plagued by unfortunate security delays. Thus, although
the law does not require agencies to receive FOIA requests by
any specific means, it is crucial for agencies to provide at
least one form of contact information in addition to ordinary
mail, such as fax or e-mail. The following percentages of agencies
provide provide such information as part of their FOIA guidance:
AGENCIES
SHOULD PROVIDE A SINGLE HANDBOOK IN A SIMPLE, CLEAR FORMAT CONTAINING
ALL OF THE NECESSARY GUIDANCE
After viewing the guidance material on each of
the 149 agency and component pages, we concluded that the ideal
format for agencies to use in providing FOIA guidance is a single
HTML page or a linked series of pages, navigable by a hyperlinked
table of contents. Although the handbooks often consist of a
long narrative covering the various elements of FOIA guidance,
one of the easiest ways to facilitate navigation through such
narratives is with a linked table of contents. DOJ's FOIA Reference
Guide makes excellent use of this technique, providing comprehensive
information contained within chapters linked from the front
page of the guide. NARA uses a single-page guide with a detailed
set of links to the subsections of the guide. The NARA guide
also includes as an appendix a sample FOIA request letter, which
is a very useful tool for members of the public who do not regularly
submit requests. (Note 31)
Some agencies post their guides as PDF documents.
This format can also be very effective if the guide is comprehensive,
because it allows a user to access all the information necessary
to file a request in a compact format that can be stored on
a personal computer. It is important, however, that agencies
provide a clear link to where users can download a free Adobe
PDF viewer if they do not already have one. The Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) is one agency with an excellent PDF guide-a
comprehensive handbook covering all major issues relevant to
FOIA requesters, including detailed discussion of exemptions,
how to file requests, fees, and a list of major information
systems as well as a description of the types of records held
by the agency.
AGENCIES
SHOULD INCLUDE IN THEIR HANDBOOKS ADVICE ON SEEKING RECORDS
ALREADY PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
In their handbooks or other guidance, agencies should inform
the public about information that is already available to the
public on their Web sites, whether under E-FOIA or otherwise,
and instruct potential FOIA requesters how to search this information
to determine whether the material they are seeking is available
without a FOIA request. Only a few agencies use their FOIA Web
pages to index and categorize materials available throughout
their broader sites. For example, the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC) FOIA page directs users to different areas
of the agency Web site containing enforcement decisions, statements
of policy, and other required records; when organized in a straightforward
manner, this approach saves time and effort for both requesters
and agencies. Another good example of this method can be found
on the FOIA site of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which
provides an organized chart entitled "Additional Ways to
Access Records" with links and information for ordering,
receiving, and accessing a broad array of IRS information without
filing a FOIA request.
AS
A COMPLEMENT TO GOOD GUIDANCE, AGENCIES SHOULD FACILITATE ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS WITH FOIA REQUESTERS
The use of online submission forms to receive FOIA requests
offers numerous benefits: speed, diminished possibility of lost
requests, a permanent record of the request, ease of tracking,
and the ability to follow up with requesters if, for example,
they fail to provide all necessary information. Online
forms simplify the FOIA process for requesters and are clearly
a best practice. This audit found, however, that only 26% of
agencies now use Web-based FOIA request forms.
The templates for these forms vary from agency to agency and
even among agency components. Particularly helpful forms include
those that walk the requester through the process of requesting
a fee waiver or expedited processing. (Note 32)
In this way, an electronic form is far better than an e-mail
address for submitting requests, particularly for the inexperienced
requester. Some examples of agencies with good online forms
include the Federal Reserve Board (FRB), which provides a field
for the requester to select the preferred method of delivery
for the documents; and the Department of Education (ED), whose
FOIA Web site has an electronic appeal form in addition to an
online request form. ED's appeal form provides step-by-step
guidance for submitting an appeal and-of great importance-allows
requesters to attach documentation in support of their arguments.
A few agencies also allow FOIA users to check the status of
their requests via the Web. This is a relatively new service,
currently offered by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and the U.S.
Secret Service (USSS). All agencies should consider this as
a way to further facilitate customer service as well as reduce
the burden on agency FOIA offices of responding to inquiries.
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Section - FOIA Web Sites ->
